the voice

Associate MemberInternational Federation of Korean War Veterans

Korea & South East Asia Forces Association of AustraliaSister with Korean War Veterans Association Australian Chapter

Twinned with the South London Branch British Korean Veterans AssociationsTwinned with the Korea Veterans Association of Canada

Affi liated Associations Association of Queensland Korea Veterans Inc.

Australian Korea Veterans Association Inc.Korea War Veterans Association of NSW

Korean War Veterans Association of Sunshine Coast Inc.The Sunshine State Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Assoc. Inc. of the USA

Allied Associations Australian Peacekeepers and Peacemaker Veterans’ Association Inc.

October 2014 Edition

Contents:Who Was Princess Patricia? 1Life Members 2Directory 2Merchandise Available 2President’s Report 3Editor’s Opinion 3Ooops 3Notices 4How to Simulate Life in the Navy 5The Origin of “Scuttlebutt” 5The Second Battle of Gettysburg 6Kamikazes: The Ultimate Special Force 6

Death Rides the Jet Stream 7Dive Bombing Before “Dive Bombing” 7The West Wall 8Christmas Luncheon Invite 8K.B. Mission: Prelude to Milne Bay 9WWI Blockade Busting Subs 10Why Wear a Poppy? 11Remembering the 25th 11Dollars in Dem Bones! 11Humour 12Out & About 13From the Vault 14Farewells 14Brain Teaser 14Editorial Disclaimer 14The Ode 14

Who Was Princess Patricia?(and why did she get a regiment named after her?)

Those of you who served in Korea, or have an interest in the confl ict itself, or are of Canadian extraction, have probably heard of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. As this year sees the 40th anniversary of the death of the eponymous princess, it is perhaps appropriate to remind everyone who she was.

Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth (“Patsy” to family and friends) was born on 17 March 1886 at Buckingham Palace, London. Her father was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her mother was Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. She had two elder siblings, Prince Arthur of Connaught and Princess Margaret of Connaught, later Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden.

Her father was posted to India with the army, and the young Princess spent two years living there. Connaught Place, the central business locus of New Delhi, is named for the Duke. In 1911, the Duke was appointed Governor General of Canada. Princess Patricia accompanied her parents to Canada, and she became popular there. Her portrait appears on the one dollar note of the Dominion of Canada with the issue date, March 17, 1917.

At the outbreak of WWI, Boer War veteran, Andrew Hamilton Gault, approached the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence, Colonel Sam Hughes, with the offer of raising a regiment of experienced soldiers at his own expense. This was approved, but with the stipulation that they must be Light Infantry. Incidentally, this force was the last privately raised regiment in the British Empire.

When Lt. Col. Farquahar DSO, Military Secretary to the Governor General, was selected to command this new regiment, he suggested that they bear Princess Patricia’s name. This met with all round approval.

Princess Patricia personally designed the badge and colours for the regiment to take overseas to France, and at her wedding in 1919, the regiment attended and played their march specially. As the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief, she played an active role until her death.

She was succeeded in 1974 by her cousin and goddaughter Patricia (the Rt. Hon. Lady Brabourne), who became the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who asked that the men and women of her regiment discount her titles and refer to her in honour of her predecessor as Lady Patricia.

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Life MembersJim Boxshall

Rev. Burne Brooker†

John Brownbill RFD KSJJohn Burke†

Bill Campbell†

Victor Dey OAMJohn Duson

Athol EgebergMick Everett†

J F Frawley OAM BEM†

Stan GallopOlwyn Green OAM (Hon)

Des Guilfoyle†

John HolfordNeville Holl†

Murray InwoodDavid Irving†

Ron KennedyGeorge Lang OAM

Dennis LehmanKenneth Mankelow†

Bruce MaxwellAlan McDonaldIan McDonald†

Allan MurrayRay McKenzie†

Don McLeod†

George Mitchell†

Bill MurphyOrmond Petherick

Jack PhilpotAllen RichesArthur Roach

Ivan RyanJoe Shields†

Gerry SteacyDoug Wilkie JP

†Deceased

DirectoryPatron

Major General J C Hughes AO DSO MC FAIM Dip FP

National PresidentVictor Dey OAM

Phone: 03 946 72750 / Mobile: 040 987 8864Email: blueydey@bigpond.net.au

National Vice-PresidentTom Parkinson 03 9350 6608

National SecretaryJohn Moller OAM JPPhone: 03 9589 3816

Email: manager@beaumarisrsl.com.au

TreasurerGerry Steacy

Phone: 03 9741 3356Email: steacy32@bigpond.com

CommitteeRon Christie, John Duson, Alan Evered, Ron Kennedy, Allen Riches, Arthur Roach, Don Scally

AppointmentsChaplain: John Brownbill RFD KSJ 0418 359 085 General Committee: Alan McDonald Pensions: Charlie Slater 9355 7264 & Ian Donald (Welfare Office, Bentleigh RSL) 9557 4547

Veterans’ Affairs: Don Scally 03 9870 7126Editor: Geoff Guilfoyle Phone: 03 59976240 Email: editor@kvaa.org.au

DelegatesACT: Colin Berryman OAM 02 6258 2463, 040 896 2415, or jacol57@bigpond.net.au

Albury-Wodonga: Paul Shimmen 02 6041 3211 Geelong: Arthur Roach 03 5243 6113 New South Wales: Merv Heath 02 4343 1967

Queensland: Harry Pooley 07 3200 0482 and Kelly Frawley (Kilcoy) 07 5497 1790 South Australia: John Bennett 08 8556 7288 Tasmania: George Hutchinson 03 6275 0762

Western Australia: John Southorn 08 9531 2008

CorrespondenceThe Secretary, PO Box 2123, Rangeview, Victoria 3132

Websitewww.kvaa.org.au

Merchandise Available KVAA pocket badge $10.00 ....... $ Kapypong battle print $ 6.00 ....... $ KVAA lapel badge (undated) $10.00 ....... $ The Hook 1953 battle print $ 6.00 ....... $KVAA lapel badge (1950-57) $ 5.00 ....... $ RAN silk print: Ships in Korea $ 15.00 ....... $KVAA windscreen decal $ 5.00 ....... $ Tie (with KVAA Inc. logo) $ 20.00 ....... $KVAA beer (stubby) holders $ 5.00 ....... $ Car number plate surrounds (set) $10.00 ....... $Korean War map (laminated) $ 6.00 ....... $ Korean War bumper sticker $ 2.50 ....... $ Korean War bumper sticker $ 2.50 ....... $

TOTAL . . . $_ _ _ _ + $2 pp = $_ _ _ _Please put a check beside each article requested and insert the dollar total.

Surname: ................................................ Given Names: .........................................

Address: ..................................................................................................................... (Please Print)

State: .................................. Post Code: ..................

Cheques or money orders should be made out to:

The Treasurer, KVAA Inc., 1 Kent Court, Werribee 3030, Victoria

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President’s Report Editor’s OpinionOne of the problems producing The Voice is that the two monthly publishing schedule means missing certain events which either happen too close to ‘final call’ for copy or occurred nearly two months previously to publication and thus lack immediate relevance. This issue has proved particularly problematic in that respect. Our ACT Delegate, Colin Berryman, enjoyed an afternoon lunch with the South Korea Ambassador on both 27 July and 1 October; Special Member, Mark Ahn, was in South Korea in late July; the Altona RSL service took place on the 15th August and, finally, the most impressive, the dinner at the Australian Club / Ambassador for Peace Medal Award ceremony / cultural event at the Hamer Hall on the 23 September.

Very little of these (either report or photos) appear in this edition and the 23 September event will be ‘old news’ by the December issue. So, new rule, in future all events will be scheduled to meet the publication date of The Voice. Yes? No. Sigh.

On a more positive note…Congratulations to KVAA committeeman, Ron Kennedy, on

reaching 50 years as a member of the Dandenong Naval Association of Australia. He joined on 8 May 1964 and is the last remaining original financial member. Seventy five people attended that first meeting. The Association still has around 45 members, many of whom joined him for a celebratory lunch at the Noble Park RSL.

And finally, I need to say thank you to Ron Walker, a member living in distant Atherton, Queensland (distant if you live in Melbourne, not if you live in Queensland). Ron sent me an account of the Battle of the Hook written by the late Douglas (Kipper) Franklin. It is hand written, which makes transcribing it tough, but the content will eventually appear in both The Voice and on the KVAA Inc. website.

An even bigger thank you to Ron Addison in close by Croydon (close by if you live in Ringwood, not if you live in Queensland). Not only did Ron donate a number of books on the Korean War to the KVAA, he also provided the editor with 15 back-issues of The Voice. Unfortunately, I already have 12 of them. The good news is that one of the three I didn’t provided the missing part one of a two part story which will go on the website.

And the biggest thank you of all to Ron Christie for the Sharp photocopier. Although it is older and much slower than the Samsung MultiXpress, it’s relegated my 20 year old HP Laserjet to ‘label printing only’ status.

Hmmm. Ron Kennedy, Ron Walker, Ron Addison and Ron Christie. I seem to be collecting Rons. Do I get a free set of steak knives if I gather the whole set?

Ooops…On 1 August 1943, 177 B-24 Liberators took off from bases in North Africa bound for the Ploesti, Rumania, in a surprise attack on the oil fields, vital to the German military. Instead the USAF was surprised, the Axis shooting down 57 bombers (34% of the attacking force) and 310 American airmen died. It was the only strategic air raid of the war in which more attacking aircrew were killed than people on the ground.

Source: World at War magazine #28, Feb.-March 2013

On Tuesday 23 September, the Korean Consul-General, Mr Jung Sung-Sub, hosted a dinner at the Australia Club – barramundi, wilted spinach and mashed potato, followed by creme brule and beverages – for Vic-torian Korean War veterans and partners. In all, including VIPs, Korean Nationals, veterans and partners, 220 people attended. On behalf of the South Korean Minister of Patriot’s and Veteran Affairs, the Consul and his staff presented each Veteran with the Ambassador for Peace medal, and a Certificate of Appreciation (in Korean & English).

After dinner we taken by coach to Hamer Hall for an evening of Korean Culture: Hanbok fashion parade, music and dance. It really was a fabulous night. The NSW Consul-General hosted a similar night about two weeks ago for NSW Veterans. Hopefully, at some time in the future, they will cover our vast Country, depending on the availability of the Consul-General and of course the supply of Peace Medals from Korea.

There were official photos taken and we only managed to take a few photos as the Club had official photographers - do not know when these will arrive [Not in time for publication in The Voice. See Editor’s Opinion opposite - Editor.]

The next morning our General Committee and the usual group of staunch members met at Stella Maris for our usual Monthly Meeting. Tired, yes, but eager as always.

On Tuesday October 7th ,the Consul-General of the Republic of Korea hosted a reception at Zinc in Federation Square on the occasion of the National Foundation Day. We, the KVAA Inc, thank him for his kind invitation to join him and the Korean nationals here in Melbourne on this very special occasion for the people of the Republic of Korea.

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NoticesHMAS Goorangai Memorial Service

The annual HMAS Goorangai Commemorative Service will commence at 11.10 on Sunday, 16 November with a short march from the RSL hall in King Street to the Ocean View Reserve. All ex-Navy men and women, and/or their descendants are urged to attend. Dress: Formal with medals. Lunch at the RSL at 12.30. $25pp. Booking for lunch are essential. To book lunch or for further details of the service, phone Jan on 9786 5371.

Scarves for SaleSpring is here but there are days when winter refuses to relinquish its grip, when you need to rug up, and what better way than with a woolen scarf (with colorered vertical stripes, representing the nations who served under the U.N. in the Korean War).

Did I hear you inquire: “Where can I get one?” Glad you asked. Our Vice-President, Tom Parkinson, can help you. Just call him on 9350 6608 or at the Pascoe Vale RSL on 9354 6364.

The cost of the scarf is $35 plus $5.20 p&p.Here’s you chance to make a fashion statement and help our

organisation at the same time.

Pozieres AppealIn an insane battle in 1916, the survivors of Gallipoli, divided into the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions, were thrown into battle in Pozieres, France. Six weeks later, all three Divisions had been destroyed, with a loss of 7,000 Men killed and 16,000 wounded. This is over 10% of the losses for Australia in the whole war, and it happened in only 6 weeks. For the last 97 years, these men have been forgotten, with all attention thrown on Gallipoli, Villers Brettonneux and Fromelles. The battle is not commemorated in Australia nor is it taught in our schools. Only the village of Pozieres, population of around 250, funds commemorations each year.

Our Association (Pozieres Remembered) is working to honour the men of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions, and we are building a Memorial Park in Pozieres to be opened at the Centenary in 2016. We are seeking the help of all Australians to make the park a reality.

We are asking that you go to our web page www.pozieresremembered.com.au – read what we are trying to achieve, consider buying a brick and tell all your friends. If you want to know more, please contact Barry or Von on pozieres1916@bigpond.com

Everyone is welcome to visit Pozieres for the Centenary in July 2016. .

Korea War Veterans Memorial ReunionWhere: Canberra, ACT 2602

When: 24th, 25th & 26th October 2014October 2014 sees the gathering of veterans, family and friends, for the annual commemorative service and functions in Canberra. For information packs and bookings please contact Ms Wendy Karam on 0418 124677 or email: wendykaram@yahoo.com.au

10 Years ServiceKeith Bell

Kenneth DicksonAlexander Donald

Paul EreautAlan D. Evered

Kenneth S GibbonsPeter R. Hay

James C. HendersonJohn Ormsby

Ronald J. C. PrivilegeNorman E. Thornton

15 Years ServiceKeith ArkinstallJohn L. Brookes

Peter M. Cerda-PaviaDouglas E. Charman

KVAA Inc. Certificate of Service Recipient List(to be presented at the KVAA Inc. Christmas Luncheon)

Albert W GoschJohn W. HazletonCyril H. Holman

Edward D. McMahonArthur J. ParsonsDesmond J. Pope Bernard Shrubsole

Edward Stirling Donald A. TylerJames C. WestonTerry Wickens

Dennis Windebank

20 Years ServiceMaxwell J. Airey

Victor A. AndersonRonald Attrill

Edward G. Black

William J. CaseyPeter H. Cox

George DanielBernie J. Day

Donald DuncanVince B. Fazio

Frederick W. FordRobert J. GrantJohn T. GubbinsAnthony J. Guest

Brian G. HewestonGraham S. Howard

George D. HutchinsonMurray C. Inwood Maurice JenningsHorace JohnsonFrancis Kenny

Harold E. KnaggsRonald K. Land

Robert J. MaddiganJohn K. McCaig

Geoffrey McLeodThomas A. O’Dea

William H. PrenticeGiles Prescott

Kenneth G. RayRonald C. RidleyAlexander ScottGeorge E SykesBrian E. Wallace

Joseph P. J. RichardsArthur R. Traynor

John D. G. WhitmoreRichard A. Woodhams

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How to Simulate Life in the Navy• Buy a dumpster, paint it grey and live in it for six months straight.• Run all of the piping and wires inside your house on the outside of the walls.• Repaint your entire house once a month.• Pump 10 inches of nasty, crappy water into your basement, then pump it out, clean up, and paint the basement ‘deck grey’.• Perform a weekly disassembly and inspection of your lawnmower.• Empty all the garbage bins in your house, and sweep your driveway three times a day, whether they need it or not. • Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go the scummiest part of town, find the most run-down, trashy bar you can, pay $10 per beer until you’re hammered, then walk home in the freezing cold.• Spend two weeks in the red-light districts of Europe, and call it ‘world travel’.• On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays turn your water temperature up to 200 degrees, then on Tuesday and Thursday turn it down to 10 degrees On Saturdays, and Sundays declare to your entire family that they used too much water during the week so all showering is secured.• Raise your bed to within six inches off the ceiling.• Have your next-door neighbour come over each day at 5 am, and blow a whistle so loud that Helen Keller could hear it and shout “Call the hands”.• When your children are in bed, run into their room with a megaphone and shout at the top of your lungs that your home is under attack, and order them to man their battle stations. • Have your mother-in-law write down everything she’s going to do the following day, then have her make you stand in the back yard at 6 am and read it to you.• Submit a request form to your father-in-law, asking if it’s ok for you to leave your house before 3 pm.• Invite 200 of your not-so-closest friends to come over, then board up all the windows and doors to your house for six months. After the six months is up, take down the boards, wave at your friends and family through the front window of your home... you can’t leave until the next day as you have duty.• Shower with above-mentioned friends.• Make your family qualify to operate all the appliances in your home (i.e. dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.).• Walk around your car for four hours, checking the tyre pressure every 15 minutes.• Sit in your car and let it run for four hours before going anywhere. This is to ensure your engine is properly ‘lighted off’• Use 18 scoops of budget coffee grounds per pot, and allow each pot to sit five hours before drinking.• Have your neighbour collect all your mail for a month, read your magazines and randomly lose every fifth item.• Have your five-year-old cousin give you a haircut with goat shears.• Attempt to spend five years working at McDonalds and NOT get promoted.

Here’s one for all the ex-sailors out there. It should bring back happy memories...

The Origin of “Scuttlebutt”The origin of the word “scuttlebutt,” which is nautical parlance for a rumor, comes from a combination of “scuttle” and to make a hole in the ship’s hull and thereby causing her to sink – and “butt” and a cask or hogs-head used in the days of wooden ships to hold liquids. The cask from which the ship’s crew took their drinking water was the “scuttlebutt”. Even in today’s Navy a drinking fountain is referred to as such. But, since the crew used to congregate around the “scuttlebutt”, that is where the rumors about the ship or voyage would begin. Thus, then and now, rumors are talk from “the scuttlebutt” or just “scuttlebutt”.

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The Second Battle of GettysburgIt’s an average day in Melbourne with two middle-ranked AFL teams playing at the MCG. A crowd of around 54,000 is expected. No problem. There are two dozen railway and tram lines converging on the stadium from all directions.

In 1863, near the small town of Gettysburg, a battle was fought that many consider the turning point of the American Civil War. As the fiftieth anniversary of the battle approached, a proposal popped up for a reunion of soldiers on the site.

So what does a average footy crowd in Melbourne have to do with the Battle of Gettysburg? Take that 54,000, make the majority of them elderly, change the date to 1913, and get rid of all the modern trams and trains. Substitute it all for a single track railway with sharp curves and a steep section travelled four times a day by a steam train. For those in Melbourne, think Puffing Billy.

Furthermore, apart from nearby Gettysburg, there were no other towns close by: no hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, or toilet facilities. Just a rural area with 54,000 guests expected to arrive by train.

This was the task that confronted the P&R railroad company and the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps – and they proved equal to it. Duplicate track was laid, sidings added, and extra trains and carriages brought in. To house everybody the Quartermaster Corps erected 6,592 8-man tents forming the Great Camp, a tent city, just south of the town.

The big push began on 29 June when P&R ran 23 trains in from Harrisburg, following this with 36 the next day. At the same time trains were arriving from the south and west.

By 1 July, the majority of the veterans, all 53,000 of them from all over the United States, had arrived. The oldest of them was 112 [this is not a misprint!] and the youngest, a spry 61 years of age.

On that first full day, the kitchen served a staggering 168,000 meals with the help of 2,170 cooks, bakers, helpers and labourers. More than 78 tons of meat, along with 108 tons of fresh vegetables, 24,930 dozen eggs, 12,300 cakes and pies, 2,000 gallons of ice cream, and various drinks and condiments were consumed. The camp bakeries used 65 tons of flour to bake daily bread as well as pies and cakes.

By 4 July, the veterans began to break camp and return home, with the last few leaving four days later. The Great Camp was dismantled by the army and by 15 August, normal life at Gettysburg resumed.

Source: Trains, July 2013 (www.trainsmag.com)

Kamikazes: The Ultimate Special ForceIn Japanese culture and literature, suicide is a strong theme. Hari Kiri is the last act of a dishonoured warrior. Thus, it was not a quantum leap to achieve the idea of a suicide corps. The main idea was to give the pilot just enough training to take off and fly his plane to the enemy fleet and crash into a target of the pilot’s choice. Aircraft carriers and troop ships were the stressed targets.

These pilots became known as kamikazes or divine wind after a great typhoon that destroyed an invasion fleet of the great Khan bound on the conquest of Japan. The allied fleets met the Japanese kamikazes with superior technology. Radar, proximity fuses, and superior aircraft stopped this last Japanese attempt at turning the tide of the war.

But Japanese planes and ordnance could not penetrate below the waterline of the allied ships. In order to compensate for this deficiency the Japanese invented the Oka, a rocket powered bomb. It was unsuccessful. Since the kamikazes were a compensation for the lack of pilot skills, the use of a high speed vehicle like the Oka made little sense. Its chronic failure led the Americans to dub it the Baka, or foolish, bomb.

The major encounter the U.S. fleet had with the kamikazes occurred during the invasion of Okinawa.

U.S. Naval losses at Okinawa 4,900 killed and 4,800 wounded. Ships sunk: 9 Destroyers, 2 Minesweepers, 2 Transports and 1 Subchaser.

Ships heavily damaged: 20 major fleet units, 74 Destroyers and 78 Smaller units.

Eighty percent of the losses were inflicted by kamikazes. This type of threat influenced the U.S. decision to use the atomic bombs that we possessed. In addition the U.S. had knowledge of the Japanese plans for mustering kaiten, explosive laden motorboats and kairya, submarines, to attack any fleet attempting the invasion of Japan. Allied losses attempting this invasion were expected to be astronomical. The kamikazes figured prominently in this projection. The atomic bomb, hopefully, would make this invasion unnecessary.

It did.Source: Strategy & Tactics magazine No. 64

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Death Rides the Jet Streamby Everett P. Bowers

During the final year of war in the Pacific, Japan introduced a new weapon designed for mass destruction and terror, Fu-go, Simple in concept and deployment, Fu-go (or the “windship weapon”) was a bomb-laden paper balloon that became the first intercontinental ballistic weapon.

From November 1944 to April 1945, Japan launched some 6,000 to 9,000 balloons armed with a complicated array of incendiary and anti-personnel bombs. These potent balloons were intended, as it was with Nohuo Fujita’s floatplane bombing raid of September 1942, to set fire to the vast forests along the North American West Coast, and perhaps kill a number of citizens in the process. Japan believed the ensuing widespread devastation and panic would force America to increase security at home, diverting manpower and equipment otherwise aimed at Japan.

Constructed of laminated mulberry paper and persimmon glue, the 32.8-foot-diameter balloon carried its deadly payload suspended from 50-foot shroud lines, giving the flying weapon an overall height of nearly 70 feet, Central to the armament was an aluminum ring approximately 30 inches across, which consisted of a sophisticated assembly of explosive charges called blow plugs. Suspended from the ring were several sandbags for ballast, four 11-pound incendiary thermite bombs, and one 33-pound high-explosive anti-personnel bomb.

Filled with hydrogen, the balloons were designed to soar to 30,000 feet and then be carried eastward by the jet stream. Traveling at more than 200 miles per hour, the balloons would cross the 6,000-mile expanse of the Pacific to North America in just three days. Optimum altitude was maintained by on-board sensors that vented gas when the balloon got too high during the day and jettisoned sandbag ballast when the balloon got too low at night.

It was determined the balloon would be over North America after three such daily cycles. At this point, the triggering device would release an incendiary bomb once every 24 hours, leaving fires in its wake, Last to fall was the anti-personnel bomb, which simultaneously triggered a self-destruct mechanism – a picric acid charge to destroy the payload platform, and a magnesium charge to ignite the hydrogen gas, destroying any hint of the balloon’s existence.

Although ingenious in concept and design, Fu-go failed to achieve its intended goal for three fundamental reasons: first, the time of year the balloons were launched (winter) produced unfavorable weather conditions; second, an effective media blackout in the United States denied the Japanese any opportunity to accurately appraise the project’s effectiveness; and, finally, an insufficient supply of hydrogen hastened the end of the project.

The only city to be bombed was Medford, Oregon on January 4, 1945. The only deaths were those of a 23-year-old pregnant Sunday school teacher and her five elementary school-aged students on a picnic near Bly, Oregon in May.

Scattered from Hawaii to Michigan and from the upper reaches of the Yukon Territory to central Mexico, these weapons still pose a deadly threat if found. To date only 361 balloons have been accounted for. The most recent discovery was in 1992 in the Applegate region of southern Oregon. Although most probably fell harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean, many may still lie hidden isolated regions of the Pacific Northwest, awaiting discovery.

Source: Military History magazine, June 2000.

Dive Bombing Before “Dive Bombing”One of the earliest recorded example of a plane dive bombing (before the action came to be known as dive bombing) occurred in October 1914, two months into World War One. On a mission to bomb a Zepellin sheds, one pilot, Lieutenant Marix, missed his target in the fog. He persisted, however, and located the shed, Desperately low on fuel, Marix could not afford to linger long enough to make the four planned level bombing attack runs, one for each of the bombs the plane carried. Instead, he decided to drop two bombs in a single pass and for precision put his plane into a dive.

The German guards around the shed spotted Marix during his approach and opened fire, riddling the plane with bullet holes. Marix released his bombs at an altitude of about 600 feet. The first missed. The second penetrated the roof and struck Zepellin LZ25 which was inflated, loaded and fueled. Explosions and fires followed. The mission was a complete success. Equally incredibly, Marix and his bullet-riddled aircraft made it safely home.

Source: Strategy & Tactics magazine No. 282 Sept.-Oct. 2013

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The Korea Veterans’ Association of Australia Inc.Victor Dey OAM (President) and The Committee

request the pleasure of your company at the annual KVAA Inc.

Christmas Luncheon Venue: Batman’s Hill on Collins St. 623 Collins Street, Melbourne Date: Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Time: 11:30 am for 12:30 lunch Bill of Fare: Traditional Christmas Dinner Meal Cost: $25 per person Drinks: Own Cost at Hotel Prices Award Presentation: Certificates of Service 10, 15 & 20 Year Pins RSVP: 25 November 2014

Book early as there are only 120 places- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please detach and return to Gerry Steacy, 1 Kent Court, Werribee, Victortia 3030RSVP: 25 November 2014

Please return your acceptance and payment by this date. We are committed to confirm guest numbers and pay the caterer seven days prior to the function.

Please confirm attendance for _ _ _ people.

Names of those attending: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Enclosed please find my cheque / money order for _ _ _ people @ $25.00 per person: $_ _ _ _.00

Please make cheques / money orders payable to: Korea Veterans Association of Australia Inc.

Christmas Luncheon Invite

The West WallGermany’s WWII “West Wall” ran from the Dutch border near Nijmegen, south to Saarbrücken, then east to Karisruhe, where it ran along the east bank of the Rhine down to the Swiss border at Basel. Built between 1936 and 1938, the West Wall consisted of more than 3,000 pillboxes, bunkers, and command posts connected to defend Germany. Dr. Fritz Todt, the builder of the autobahn, the well-known German highway, directed its construction, and he designed it to follow ground features and fit in with rivers and lakes.

Wherever there were large open spaces, Todt sowed rows of “dragon’s teeth” to trap tanks and channel attacks to low ground. Built to an average depth of three miles (5km), the West Wall consumed one third of the annual German cement production. Its pillboxes were overgrown and obsolete by 1944, stripped of their 37mm antitank guns, and its gun ports were too small for modern 75mm and 88mm guns.

In 1944 the Germans planted mines, dug in tanks and 88mm guns, and brought up Volksgrenadier formations manned with four times the number of machine guns as an American rifle company; it became a daunting task to attack through a chain of mutually supporting West Wall pillboxes.

The Allies called the wall the Siegfried Line after the famous Siegfriedstellung, the Siegfried fortress of the Meuse-Argonne forest, of World War I, which the Germans named after Siegfried, a mythical Teutonic warrior. G.E. Patrick Murray, Victory in Western Europe, MetroBooks, 1999

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K.B. Mission: Prelude to Milne Bayno author credited

It was the night of 25 August 1942. A patrol of the 61st Australian Battalion was groping its way along a jungle track near K.B. Mission on the shores of Milne Bay when the forward scout suddenly sighted four shadowy figures. Uncertain of the Strangers’ Identity, the scout shouted a challenge. Next instant he fell dead as a burst of fire hit him. Yet In that instant the Japanese aggressors sealed their own doom. Before they could fling themselves behind cover, a barrage of bullets killed the four. Believing the four Japanese were but the advance patrol of a larger enemy force the Australians settled in: sighted their rifles along the reach and waited.

They came at last. The van of a column of enemy troops which stopped in its tracks when the four bodies were discovered. That was when the Australians opened up. Thus were fired the first shots in the battle of the K.B. Mission, one of the most bitter clashes of the entire Milne Bay campaign.

Australian fortunes were at a low ebb in August 1942, with the Japanese invasion army pushing deep along the Kokoda Trail towards Port Moresby. To the Australian Command the next enemy target would be Milne Bay. If the enemy occupied this strategic inlet they would outflank Moresby and control the sea lanes of the Coral Sea through which ran the lifeline between Australia and New Guinea.

Major-General Cyril Clowes was given the task of preparing Milne Bay for defence and was allotted Brigadier J. Fields’ 7th Brigade (9th, 25th and 61st Battalions) and various supporting units. As Japanese aircraft began to strafe and bomb the Bay as a prelude to invasion, Brigadier George Wootten’s 18th AIF Brigade (9th, 10th and 12th Battalions) arrived. Clowes at once decided to keep these battle-tried veterans as a reserve for a counter-attacking role.

During August, the air war gained momentum, for Australian Kittyhawk fighters were now operating from hastily prepared strips.

The first invasion alarm was sounded on 25 August when a Japanese convoy was sighted bearing down on Milne Bay. With no news of definite landings, Captain C. Bicks, in command of the 61st Battalion at K.B. Mission, sent out patrols to contact other formations of his units.

It was one of these parties that first came to grips with the Japanese. Lieutenant Robinson and his patrol played hide and seek with the enemy until the invader brought up tanks against which the Australians were helpless. Nethertheless, as dawn broke, Robinson killed the commander of the lead tank with a snap shot and led his men back into the perimeter of K.B. Mission.

That night the real battle of the Mission opened with enemy fire setting a building alight and the defenders retaliating with a concentrated and deadly mortar barrage. Despite temporary setbacks the Japanese came in again and again and inflicted casualties on the Australians, seriously reducing their firepower.

Faced with the complete annihilation of his command, Hicks decided to withdraw a mile further back to the Gama River. When news of the retreat reached General Clowes, he ordered Lieutenant Colonel J. Dobb’s 2/10th Battalion to move forward from Giligili to retake K B. Mission.

Late that afternoon the remnants of the 61st joined the 2/10th and the combined force drove ahead, hurled the enemy from the Mission Station and quickly prepared for the inevitable counter-attack.

With the coming of darkness an eerie high-pitched chant rose from the enemy lines. Gradually the sound grew closer; suddenly the Japanese burst out of the surrounding jungle and led by two tanks flung themselves at the 2/10th. After bitter fighting the Japanese succeeded in cutting the 2/10th into several isolated pockets. Concerted resistance broke down, and the Australians withdrew and reassembled at the Gama River.

This task had scarcely been completed when the Japanese, supported by tanks, were on them again. In the circumstances organised resistance was practically impossible, and it inevitable that the Australians should be forced back to where the 25th Battalion was guarding No. 3 Airstrip.

Deciding now to collect his men who had been scattered about the jungle during the series of clashes, Colonel Dobbs sent out patrols which scoured the jungle, penetrating as far as the Mission. There they found Private A. Abrahams – still fighting the enemy.

With both legs riddled with bullets he had been unable to take part in the breakout and stayed in position. Five times during the night a tank had tried to run him down but on each occasion had evaded it by rolling to the sides.

At dawn, ten Japanese infantrymen mopping up the area circled to finish him off. Methodically, Abrahams killed one after the other until six lay dead before him. The remaining four took cover in a Mission building and were sniping at him when the Australian patrol arrived.

The patrol quickly flushed out the last Japanese, killing them as they tried to escape into the jungle. It took them three days to carry Abrahams to safety.

(continues on Page 10)

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The expected attack on No.3 AirstrIp came that night when waves of Japanese hurled themselves against the waiting Australians or the 25th and 61st Battalions. Devastating fire cut great swathes in their ranks as time and again they tried to batter a path on to the strip. At dawn, the surviving Japanese withdrew leaving Clowes to order the 2/12th to advance on K.B. Mission by way of the Gama River. Here the Australians learnt another lesson from the Japanese, for some of the enemy lay on their own dead waiting for Australians to pass before ambushing them from the rear.

Determined to get to the Mission before dark, the 2/12th pressed on until in the gathering dusk, the advance came up to the Station’s perimeter.

Next instant the Australians sprang forward in a wild bayonet charge that carried them into the centre of the ruins, and there in a savage hand-to-hand clash they slaughtered 60 of the enemy and the Mission was theirs. Soon several hundred Japanese charged from the Jungle in a desperate counterattack, which ended when the defenders threw the remnants of the Japanese from the Mission.

With the Mission now firmly in their grip the Australians pushed out patrols to harass the enemy – some-times clashing with small Japanese parties who probed at the perimeter in suicidal thrusts. Several days hard fighting still lay ahead of the Australians, but the bitter see-saw battles of the K.B. Mission were ended. The way was now prepared for the victory at Milne Bay.

Source: Navy News Vol.14, No.17, 20 August 1971

K.B. Mission: Preluide to Milne Bay (continued from Page 9)

WWI Blockade Busting SubsBlockades of enemy ports during war time tend to develop that peculiar kind of person and ship: the blockade runners. In World War I, the Royal Navy’s efficiency at cutting off German ports and capturing merchant vessels bound for Germany had reduced the country’s capacity both to make war and feed itself. Toward the end of 1916, the situation in the country was getting desperate.

The typical daily food ration was, according to one civilian, “five slices of bread, half a small cutlet, half a tumbler of milk, two thimblefuls of fat, a few potatoes and an eggcup of sugar.”

In 1916, Germany created the ultimate World War I U-boat, developed with private funds. It was a true long-range submarine cruiser, designated as a merchant vessel. Boats of the UA class were 230 feet long, about 1500 tons, with a speed of 15.3 knots on the surface and a range of 12,630 miles at 8 knots. The first UA class blockade-breaking civilian cargo submarine was the Deutschland, operated by the North German Lloyd Line.

The Deutschland was unarmed and had a wide beam to provide space for a cargo capacity of 700 tons, small if compared with surface ships, but equal to that of seven modern C-5A transport aircraft. She was designated for high-value trans-Atlantic commerce, submerging to avoid British patrols.

On her maiden voyage, she managed to slip through the British blockade with a cargo of dyes, chemicals and precious stones bound for still-neutral America, arriving in Baltimore harbour in July 1916 after four weeks at sea. The voyage was a remarkable propaganda coup and profitable as well, with Deutschland returning to Germany with a valuable cargo of nickel, tin, and crude rubber, much of it stored outside the pressure hull.

Another mercantile submarine, the Bremen, departed for America but disappeared enroute, apparently sunk by a mine north of the Orkneys. The Bremen was escorted by the conventional submarine U-53. Some of the U-53’s ballast tanks had been converted to carry extra fuel to allow it to make the trip. U-53 continued to the east coast of the US, where her commander, Lieutenant Hans Rose, decided to demonstrate just how fearsome Germany’s U-boats were by sinking three British, one Norwegian, and one Dutch merchantman just outside US territorial waters. He, apparently, intended to intimidate the Americans, but instead largely succeeded in antagonising them.

The Deutschland made a second merchant trip in November, 1916, making landfall in New London, Connecticut, but anti-German sentiment was raging in the US by then and no more merchant voyages were undertaken. Three months later she had been converted and sent to war as U-155.

Deutschland was given two torpedo tubes and a 150mm (5.0 inch) deck gun. The six remaining boats of the class under construction were finished as conventional submarines, each equipped with a twin 150mm deck gun and 19 torpedoes.

When the US entered the war in April 1917 the six completed UA boats were deployed to the East Coast of the United States, where they laid mines and sank 174 ships, mostly smaller vessels without radios which could neither be warned or give a warning. The UAs had proved that a submarine could operate 3000 miles from home base, but they had little impact on the movement of troops and supplies to Europe.

Source: Navy News Vol.47, No.17, 23 September 2004

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Why Wear a Poppy?Author unknown

“Please wear a poppy” the lady said She held one forth, but I shook my head

Then I stopped and watched as she offered them thereAnd her face was old and lined with care But beneath the scars the years had made

There remained a smile that refused to fade A boy caine whistling down the street

Bouncing along on carefree feet His smile was full of joy and fun

“Lady” said he, “may I have one?” When she pinned it on he turned to say

“Why do we wear a poppy today?” The lady smiled in her wistful way and answered

“This Is Remembrance Day.And the poppy there, is the symbol for

The gallant men who died in warAnd because they did, you and I are freeThat’s why we wear a poppy, you see!

I had a boy about your sizeWith golden hair and big blue eyes

He loved to play and jump and shoutFree as a bird he would race about

As the years went by he learned and grewAnd became a man – as you will too!

He was fine and strong with a boyish smile,But he seemed with us such a little whileWhen war broke out and he went away

I still remember his face that dayWhen he smiled at me and said ‘Goodbye,

I’ll be back soon Mum, so please don’t cry’.But the war went on and he had to stay,And all I could do was wait and pray

His letters told of the awful flight(I can still see it in my dreams at night)

With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wireAnd the mines and the bullets, the bombs and fire.”

“Till at last, at last, the war was won – And that’s why we wear a poppy son.”

The small boy turned as if to go,Then said, “Thanks lady, I’m glad to know

That sure did sound like an awful fightBut your son – did he come home alright?”

A tear roiled down each faded cheekShe shook her head, but she didn’t speak

I slunk away in a sort of shameAnd if you were me, you would do the same.

For our thanks, in giving is oft delayedThough our freedom was bought – and thousands paid.

So when we see a poppy wornLet us reflect on the burden borneBy those who gave their very all

When asked to answer the country’s callThat we at home in peace might live,

Then wear a poppy. Remember – and give.

Remembering the 25thby Ramon J. Mason ex 3RAR & 1RAR

We gather at dawn to pay our tributes, to the men who landed in their khaki suits,

on a peninsula in the Dardanelles, where they were to face the shot and shells,

raining down at them on the beach, from the Turks on the hills, out of their reach.

In the dawn’s unfaltering gloom,rushed these heroes to their awaiting doom. They were trying to win an unlikely victory

on the beaches, ridges and ravines of Gallipoli. Though their offensive was to prove a failure,

it’s looked on as a victory by the people of Australia. So let us stand and offer a prayer,

in memory of those who are still there. Let’s honour those who stayed,

those who came back, Australians and New Zealand soldiers,

our ANZACs.

Dollars in Dem Bones!by Eugene Byrne

By the early 19th century it was widely realised that bones, rich in calcium, were a valuable fertiliser, and within a few years of Napoleon’s defeat, agents of fertiliser manufacturers were scouring battlefields. The bones of men and horses were removed from places such as Austerlitz, Leipzig and Waterloo and shipped, usually to Hull, and on to bone-grinders, many in Doncaster. This was not a well-documented business, but it was reported on and became part of popular folklore.

In 1822, a correspondent wrote in The Observer: “It is now ascertained beyond a doubt, by actual experiment on an extensive scale, that a dead soldier is a most valuable article of commerce; and, for aught known to the contrary, the good farmers of Yorkshire are, in a great measure, indebted to the bones of their children for their daily bread.”

It seems a shocking disrespect to us, but times were different. For centuries, corpses on battlefields had been stripped of valuables by other soldiers, camp followers and local peasants, and the Napoleonic Wars were no different.

Long before the bone merchants moved in, many bodies at Waterloo were stripped of their teeth. This was such a bonanza for Britain’s denture industry that all false sets made from human teeth were known as ‘Waterloo teeth’ for years after. The corpses of the poor were a commodity, whether as a source of fertiliser, teeth, or anatomical instruction for medical students.

Source: BBC History magazine, 23 October 2013

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Humour Warning: the following may be offensive to sensitive souls of Scottish descent.

On the other hand…reading it won’t cost you a farthing.The minister was at ease after service Sunday night.“ Many folks in church ? “ asked his wife.“ Aye, good attendance – and a tourist was present, but I did not see him.”“ But how do know ? ““ There was a 20 pound note in collection box.”

* * * Judge: “You are charged with throwing your mother-in-law out of the window.”Maclean: “It was my Celtic temper. I did it with-out thinking, sir.”Judge: “Yes, I understand, but don’t you see how dangerous it might have been for anyone passing on the street below.”

* * * A Scotsman went into a barber’s shop and asked the cost of a haircut. “Six pounds,” replied the hairdresser. “What about a shave?” asked the Scot. “Three pounds fifty pence,” came the reply.The Scot retorted, “Shave my head.”

* * * McDougal donates a lot of money to charity but likes to remain anonymous. He even forgets to sign his name on the cheques.

* * * A Scotsmen and a Jewish man were having a magnificent meal at one of the finest restaurants in New York. At the end of the evening the waiter came over to present the check and a Scottish voice said, “that’s all right laddie just gae the check to me.” The headlines in the local news-paper next day proclaimed: Jewish ventriloquist found beaten to death.

* * * A Scotsman decided to get married, so one morning he sent messages to three of his girl-friends, proposing marriage. Two phoned immediately to say “yes” while the third phoned that night to say the same. He married the third girl saying, “The lass for me is the one who waits for the cheap rates.”

* * * Two robbers broke into a house in Glasgow in search of money. A fierce struggle ensued with the owner. “We didn’t do too badly,” said one of them after-wards. “We came out with twenty pounds.” “But we had fifty when we went in,” complained the other.

Winters are fierce in northern Scotland, so the owner of the estate felt he was doing a good deed when he bought earmuffs for his foreman. Noticing, however, that the foreman wasn’t wearing the earmuffs even on the bitterest day, the landlord asked, “Didn’t you like the muffs?”

The foreman said, “They’re a thing of beauty.”“Why don’t you wear them?”The foreman explained, “I was wearing them the first

day, but somebody offered to buy me a drink and I didn’t hear him!”

* * * A little Scottish boy ran into the house and said to his father, “I’ve just saved twenty pence by running home from school behind the bus.” His father replied, “that’s good but you could have saved £2 by running home behind a taxi.”

* * * “Listen to this Lads’, said the man to his mates in the pub. “Last night when ah wis in here a burglar broke in tae ma hoose.”

“Did he get anyhting?”“Aye, a broken nose and two teeth knocked oot. The

wife thought it wis me commin’ in drunk!”

* * * MacDonald was in poor health. He asked his friend MacDougal if he would pour a bottle of scotch over his grave if he should die one of these days. MacDougal said, “Sure’n I’ll be glad, laddie, but would you mind if I passed it through my kidneys first?”

* * * Maître d’hôtel: “Are you here for a special occasion?”Campbell: “Aye, we won the third prize in the annual Robert Burns Contest, a haggis dinner for two.” Maître d’hôtel: “What were the other prizes?”Campbell: “The second prize was a single haggis dinner, and, if you won the first prize, you didnae have to eat the haggis.”

* * * “Where do you come from?” the Scotsman asked an American. “From the greatest country in the world,” replied the American. “Funny,” said the Scotsman, “you’ve got the strangest Scottish accent I’ve ever heard.”

* * * A meeting was held in a Scottish town to protest about the fact that bus fares had been reduced. Citizens were outraged because previously they had saved twenty pence by not using the buses whereas now they were only saving fifteen pence.

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Out & About

The KVAA’s A.C.T. delegate, Colin Berryman, at the ROK Embassy presenting the South Korean Ambassador, his Excellency, Bong-Hyan Kim, with a Royal Australian Infantry Corps Plaque. The Berrymans (Col and wife, Jan) were at a luncheon commemorating the 27 July 1953 armistice. Jan Berryman is the third woman from the left.

Embassy Luncheon

2014 Youth Peace Camp

Medal Award Ceremony & Korean Cultural Event

Vic and Edna Dey with various members of the clan, including great grandchildren, Sienna and Max, at the Hamer Hall.

KVAA Inc. President Vic Dey’s great grandson, Aaron (left in top photo), who is studying at University in Seoul, at the 2014 Peace Camp for Youth.

(2nd from left): KVAA Inc. special member, Mark Ahn (also – take a deep breath here – a Member of Victorian Multicultural Business Ministerial Council, Honorary President of Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Melbourne Inc., and special member of the Australian-Korea Youth Association) at the War Memorial in Korea, late July. Left and right of Mark are, respectively, Chang Keun Choi and Kyu Kim (both of the KWMF) with Yunjin Kang, Director, MPVA, on the right.

KVAA Inc. President, Vic Dey, hogging the limelight with former Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu (back to camera, waving a bunch of flowers in the air in an unsuccessful attempt to find someone to pass them on to).

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FarewellsAlfred Argent, 335007, 3RAR, on 22 September 2014John G. Brear, 2401296, 2RAR, on 11 August 2014

Allan W. C. Burgess, 32725, 3RAR, on 19 August 2014Graeme Bruce Campbell, 2400897, 3RAR, on 5 August 2014

Ian Gordon Hansen, 1400452, 3RAR, on 16 April 2014Alan H. Montgomery, 35337, 1RAR, on 23 August 2014

Arnold Morris Pepper, 31905, 1RAR, on 2 September 2014Charles Ramage, 46221, HMAS Condamine, on 30 Sept. 2014

Ernie Thomsen, 3400304, 3RAR, in September 2014

The OdeThey shall grow not old,

As we that are left grow old;Age shall not weary them,Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,and in the morning

We will remember them.LEST WE FORGET

Editorial DisclaimerArticles in The Voice are printed on the understanding that, unless stated, they are the original works of the contributors or authors. The editor reserves the right to reject, edit, abbreviate, rewrite or re-arrange, any item submitted for publication. The view of contributing authors are not necessarily those of the Association, the editor or publishers of The Voice.

From the Vault...via John Boyer ex-HMAS Bataan

Bataan’s icy bow. Winter 1950.

Bataan stokers, Christmas Day 1950 off Inchon.

Refuelling at Sea March 1951.

U.S. Korean War Major General, William Dean, holds the distinction of being the highest ranking officer to disable a North Korean tank with a hand grenade, the highest ranking officer to become a P.O.W., and he was also the highest ranking officer to win a Medal of Honor.

Brain TeaserWhat common English word, 9 letters long, and each time you remove a letter, remains an English word down to the last letter?Answer to last issue’s anagram puzzle: grenade - angered - enraged